Cathay de Grande

The Cathay de Grande nightclub on Argyle & Selma, Hollywood, CA, dubbed by one newspaper in 1984 as "the most dangerous nightclub in America!" Ha! Probably true :) Two floors for punkrock bands and mayhem, upstairs and the basement, with the army green parachute ceiling hanging down, and 4 streets from Argyle down Selma, winding through the cul de sac, through the alleys and various hangouts, down thru the bowling alley lot, and up toward Carlton Liquor and the liquor store on Gower & Hollywood Blvd, streets filled with 300 friends and bandmates, 7 nights a week. There was as much fun and chaos happening outside on the streets as there was inside catching bands. The Cathay was sort of L.A.'s CBGB's, the only difference being it was snatched away from us before we had the chance to burn out on it. We never got tired of going! It was one big adventure every night, and a chance to see killer bands for $5 bucks and under, and hang with friends who'd drive in from all over SoCal.
The Cathay closed November 1985, leaving us semi stranded at the dawn of punk dying in L.A. and the scene merging with metal. We tried finding a new regular hangout, catching bands up the street at The Fetish, or after hours at Zero One Gallery, gigs at The Olympic, but nothing could ever replace our fabulous regular hangout, The Cathay. When the Cathay closed, we also lost our home away from home, a great place to see great local bands in a cool comfy venue, and we all lost touch with friends we only ran into at The Cathay. Glad to see a lot of familiar faces and new friends here :)
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